Rule of blood
by Devils.magic
Summary: Levi pushes himself to the edge of life as he tries to protect his squad and fights the menacing power of the new world that dangerously mirrors the old one.. why do humans crave power so?
1. Chapter 1

Attack on titan Fanfiction – I do not own any of the characters. But the story is mine..

Enjoy… and don't forget to R&R…!

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Chapter 1

They ran.. Ran for their lives.. Every step so tiny so insignificant, but yet so important. They had to keep moving. The ground shuddered under them. It would have been happier times if it were just an earthquake. But the trembling was not the doing of Mother Nature.

"TURN THE CORNER," the boy, no more than 18 years of age yelled at the top of his voice, steering their small group, trying to put them out of harm's way. But to little avail. The trembling of the ground continued behind them, coming towards them and washing under their feet in waves. Growing dangerously closer with every split second. Each vibration threatening to waver the balance of their very being. Trying to make them fall face first to the ground. But they _had_ to push on, push forward, like their life depended in it, because it did.

"ARMIN, I'LL DISTRACT THE OAF, YOU TAKE THEM TO SAFETY," the boy screamed,

"NO!" The golden haired boy was thrown off guard by the sudden order shouted in his direction, "EREN! DON'T BE AN IDIOT… EREN..!" Armin scattered to a stop, only for a second, only to watch his childhood friend turn himself into bait and dash away in another direction.

"EREN..!"

"Armin, come on, we need to keep moving," it was Jean who had grabbed his arm and tugged him onward. But Armin could not take his eyes off the spot where Eren had turned the turned the curve and disappeared behind the gray wall of a smashed building. _No,Eren.._

 _Damn suicidal maniac!_ Jean thought as he struggled to pull Armin's body ahead.

"Fuck!" a curse left his lips as he stumbled, rubble crushing under his feet, his plan had worked, the Titan was hot on his tail. Eren pushed his weight onward glancing back every few moments to judge the distance between the giant and himself. _This is NOT good,_ his entire existence quaked. His desperate attempts to find an escape had failed him on every turn. At unknown distances, he could hear the swishes of the ODM gears as hundreds of other soldiers' were locked in combat. Trying to cut down as many titans as they possibly could. Trying to defend the city and the people that called her home.

The quite afternoon had quickly rolled over and turned into a nightmare that no one was ready for. What had happened? Why? They had told them that the titans had been defeated! Then why? Where had these monsters come from?

"Gather the troops!" a much too familiar voice had commanded, but something in the otherwise calm voice had made Eren's head snap to face his captain. The look on his face was enough to tell him what was happening,

"Listen up, get as many civilians to the bunkers as possible," the man shouted orders to all the soldiers present in the small dining hall, "the titans have broken through."

"What! The titans? But cap.."

"There is no time for small talk, those who can get their ODM gear, do it," the Captain cut short the shocked exclamation of his subordinate.

"Akermen, you are in charge. Join the fight after you've dropped the baggage, all of you."

"Yeager follow me."

The captain turned and rushed out of the hall, leaving the troops to their own devices.

"What's going on Captain?" Eren questioned trying to keep up with his superior.

"Have you lost your hearing along with losing your transforming ability Yeager?" the Captain spat, not letting off on his sarcasm even in the pressing situation. He stopped abruptly and Eren walked right into him. They had walked down a narrow path and come to a stop at the end of it. Eren watched as Levi pressed his back against the wall and peeped into the dusty road, which seemed to glow red in the dying evening sun. His eyes widened, as he felt it, the trembling of the ground beneath him. "Captain.."

"Shh," Levi hushed him off, his face scrunched up in utter concentration, mind trying to think up plans, escapes, anything.

Another tremble.

"Yeager," He looked straight at the teen, "try it.." his gaze peered into the confused face of the boy.

"But sir.. I-I ca-"

"Try it, you little shit," he grabbed Eren's hand and thrust the base of its thumb into his mouth, "bite, you stupid fuck.."

Defeated, Eren bit into his own hand, moments passes, and a steady stream of blood ran down his hand, crimson, just like the dying sun.

Tch, Levi clicked his tongue and closed his eyes as he let out a sigh, _impeccable timing wasn't it?_ "Put us all in a bind haven't you?" he spat, more to himself than to the boy standing before him, "that's enough," he lay his own hand on Eren's, gesturing him to stop.

"Alright, it was a gamble anyhow," he said, pulling out the white handkerchief from the inside breast pocket of his jacket, _that's not about to heal any time soon,_ was his thought as he wrapped it around the boys wrist, red blotches appeared on it almost instantly, much to his annoyance.

"Alright, I'll clear a path, there is an armory 20 yards from here, get there and suit up."

Eren could only stare at his superior as he shot the anchor of his gear into the wall of the building on the other side of the road, "move your ass you shit!" he shouted as he disappeared from sight.

Eren gathered himself and ran towards his destination, trying to hide himself the best he could. The sound of the monsters was getting louder and clearer now. He was far away from the city gate but, it was unmistakable! Not wanting to believe his ears, he ran down a staircase jumping behind it into a small space to hide himself from view. The city was silent save the sounds of distant crashing of buildings and the occasional thundering of the ground, "mm"

The voice was tiny, but he had heard it none the less. He craned his neck to look into the low window, and sure as hell spotted the form of a little boy inside the house. Careful not to alarm him, he crept closer to the door and slowly opened it. "shh… shhh.." he tried to calm the child who scurried away from him, "I'm not going to hurt you." He looked at the frightened child, his heavy breathing filling the room.

"Are you hurt?" the child shook his head, "come here, we are getting out, alright," just then there was a loud bang and the roof of the house was smashed inside. A large boulder fell through, sending debris flying all over the place. Eren lunged towards the kid, and closed his arms around him, forming a protective barrier.

Slowly the dust cleared. His ears still ringing, he looked down at the child whimpering in his embrace, "hey.. Come on.." A thick gooey substance fell next to him, it sizzled and steam rose from it. _No!_ Eren looked up. The large head of a titan was staring into the house form where the boulder had fallen in.

"No!" he gathered the child in his arms and ran for the door. The titan gurgled as he stuck his hand through the tear and tried to grasp his 'food', but Eren ran out before its fingers could curl around him.

With the boy over his shoulder he made for the narrow road opposite the house, the thuds of the titans feet close. But years of being a part of the Scouts had taught him how to survive and that was just what he was going to do. His training had taught him that titans were slow because of their large sizes and if you ran fast enough and dodged criss-cross, they would get confused in the head. That was if you were not dealing with an abnormal.

Panting, he let the child down. He had managed to puzzle the giant moron, for the time being at least. "Ok.." he said, breaths coming in hard intervals, "I.. Can't carry you any… more .. You have to run with… me.. Ok… " he urged the kid taking his tiny hand in his own.

"Eren..!" someone whispered his name, "is that you?"

"Armin! What?! What are you doing? Are you insane?" he looked at his friend like he had gone crazy, "where is your gear?"

"There was no time, Jean and I were in the market when it happened," Armin said, it was clear that he was desperately trying to pull his wits together, "Eren, it's bad! There are too many of them. They managed to evacuate the civilians in the interior sectors of the city but almost everyone closer to the gates has died. We were- we were there … we tr-ied.. but.."

"Armin, don't so that to yourself."

"It was a blood bath, Eren! So many people! So man-" he looked at Eren, "we managed to snag a few of the civilians out of there," he turned to look at Jean who was trying to calm the small group down.

"Armin, we have to get these people to safety, there are bunkers at the end of the city, close to the walls, they are small and they lead straight to tunnels that connect to the other side."

"Yes the bunkers, yes.. They are not far from here right?"

"Yeah."

Another crash was heard and all of them jumped as if on cue, _damn that bastard_ , the titan had found its way back to him.

"EVERYONE! RUN! FOLLOW ME!"

And they ran.

….

"ARMIN, I'LL DISTRACT THE OAF, YOU TAKE THEM TO SAFETY," Eren yelled, and sprinted off away from the group, _EREN!_ He could hear Armin's voice, but there was no turning back now. He dodged and jumped and scrambled through the debris below his feet. The titan, dangerously close behind him. He evaded another blow from the titan and ran down a small alley, _SHIT..!_

 _SHIT..!_

"SHIT..! No… " a dead end..! He frantically looked around for something, anything! He turned to look at his enemy. The titan knew it had won. It just stood there looking at its prey. Then it moved, slowly, so slowly, it could have been taking a stroll in a park. Eren's eyes fell on a something, he ran to it and pulled out the heavy metal rod.

He turned back to face the titan, his weapon at the ready, he was not going to go down without a fight, NEVER..!

The titan picked up its pace. Moving ahead,

"COME ON YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

The titan lunged face first, its mouth wide open, ready to devour its prey whole. Eren jumped out and away before its mouth before it slammed shut. His feet wavered as he tried to find some form of grounding. They failed and he fell, his back hitting the ground and a sharp piece of broken rock embedded itself in his shin. He curled up as his body screamed in agitation. When he looked up, the titan was on all fours, ready to snap again, there was no escape now. _This is it.._

SWISH!

A blur of a circle shot behind the titan's neck. Red blood sprayed everywhere when it made contact, and the titan's limp body fell to the ground, sizzling, as it began disintegrating.

Levi spun to a stop, but unable to control the force from the speed, he crashed right into the wall next to him. And slid down it in a heap.

"Captain!" Eren gasped, struggling to his feet he limped towards his captain as fast as he possibly could.

"Captain, Levi!"

Levi grunted, as he tried to force his body off the ground, his arms trembling dangerously, "Shitty brat! Agh.. Didn't I ask you to… suit .. a-up?" he barked as Eren approached him, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Captain?" his superior was a blood-stained mess. _He is hurt?!_

"Come here you bloody idiot," before Eren could react, Levi had pulled him towards himself and bounded off the ground. Air streaming past them, they moved upwards. When they were high enough Levi landed on a rooftop and threw his subordinate away from him.

Eren landed hard, his leg revolting in pain…

"Brat! Show me that.." he dragged Eren's foot close.. "Saddle up soldier.." he said, Levi looked straight into Eren's eyes. Giving Eren no time to prepare, he pulled the jagged rock out of his leg…

"AAH!"

"Shut it.. You weakling.." Levi swayed and collapsed on his side.

"They are.." he whispered.. "They show intelligen.." he said before his eyes slid shut..

"CAPTAIN!"

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Levi Hurt?! What Noo!


	2. Chapter 2

Attack on titan Fanfiction – I do not own any of the characters. But the story is mine..

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The sun had almost fully set and the city was quiet save the pattering of the few stray raindrops that fell around them. In the dusky red glow, Eren stared as his captain's body swayed, his eyelids fluttering as he lost his composure and collapsed.

"They are.." he whispered.. "They show intelligen.." he said before he passed out.

"CAPTAIN!" an alarmed Eren rushed ahead to aid his superior, "Captain Levi! What's wrong?"

Levi's breathing was labored, his mouth open, as his lungs tried to suck in the much needed oxygen from the air around. "Captain," Eren said again, as he reached out to the still body of Levi and shook him gently, his own leg revolting against any movement he made. Eren turned his captain's body to lay him on his back. The wind picked up as a stray draft washed over the two disturbing the dust and ruffling their clothes. A storm was on its way.

Eren's hands moved quickly as he began peeling off his superior's shirt. It was like someone had put the man through a shredder. His otherwise clean clothes were completely soiled, dried blood clung to the fabric around the numerous rips on it. He worked the thin shirt off the man and started ripping the fabric to make strips. He could not help but wonder what must have happened for Levi to look like this? His captain, the strongest of them all was pretty much bathed in blood. _They show intelligen…_ Eren's eyes widened as the whisper that had left Levi's lips finally registered.

"Eren!" Connie landed behind him, stumbling slightly through exhaustion, "Where were you ma…" his body went rigid at the scene before him.

"What the hell happened here?" Mikasa's alarmed voice broke in.

"Help me out.." Eren said without letting his focus off what he was doing.

"Give me that," Connie snatched the shirt, "Can't do anything right can you," he said inspecting the terrible job Eren had done, "you need to get that leg wrap.." he cut his sentence when he saw that Mikasa had already gotten down to the job, using her own red scarf to stop the bleeding.

Connie bent over Levi and started working the make shift bandages around the more serious wounds that had refused to stop bleeding. Once Mikasa was done tending to Eren's she turned to assist Connie.

"They show intelligence,"

"What?" Connie looked up just for a moment,

"They show intelligence, it's what Levi said before he passed out. What happened out there guys? They show intelligence as in like the hybrids?"

"No, I would not say like the Hybrids, but they definitely knew what was going on, they kept dodging our attacks, some of them even worked as a team, our casualties were just.. too many.."

"But you guys defeated them right?"

"Hardly, they just up and left, after killing almost half of ours,"

"and.. they weren't eating any of us.." Mikasa's quiet voice poked in "it was like they were here meagerly to slaughter us."

Levi stirred, and groaned as Connie lifted his waist slightly to tie a knot and finish off. "We could never have kept up with their assault if it was not for him though," he looked down at his captain, admiration and respect filling him, "he was the quickest to adapt to the situation, I think too many of the soldiers owe their lives to him and Erwin after today."

The rain was coming down at a steady pace now, "It's going to be a stormy night," Connie said placing his right hand over his eyes to shelter them from the water, he was looking at the clouds above, "we'd better get behind the wall, both of you need a doctor." He looked down and pulled his hood over his head, "I'll go look for some rope."

Dead silence fell as the night grew colder with the rain. Mikasa removed her cape and placed it under Levi's head as she pulled it hood over his eyes to shield his face from the oncoming rain. _What's talking Connie so long?_ The boy had rarely lost sight of what he had to do. She turned to look at Eren, her expression softening.

"does it hurt?"

"Yeah, but it's not too deep so it should not have a problem healing."

"Hmm.. Connie sure is taking long."

"Well fin-"

"Shh.. listen.." Mikasa held her hand over his mouth.

Through the steady hum of the rain, they could hear the very familiar _swish_ ing sound, both of them knew what it was, there was no doubt there, but this sound was kind of broken. Someone was using the ODM gear without enough gas. The sound grew closer and it finally swished past them. Whoever it was had taken notice of the three and turned mid swing towards them. They came to a tumbling stop as the gear gave out,

"Aah,"

It was Armin looking completely distressed. He scrambled to his feet and rushed to Levi's unconscious form completely ignoring the other two.

"Armin!" Mikasa got to her feet, "The hell are you doing?" he moved to stop her friend who was almost dragging Levi across the roof, "Hey! She held him by his shoulders and shook him." It was as if he woke up from a daze and finally took notice of Mikasa. "You should _not_ be doing that, he is in bad shape Armin," she watched as he looked down, his eyes widened as though he had just now noticed the condition of his captain. His legs buckled beneath him.

Mikasa sat down next to him and lifted his chin, "what's happening Armin?" she inquired looking straight into his eyes. Eren limped closer to them.

"I have a very bad feeling about this Mikasa, we have to get him out of sight!" Armin was visibly shaken up about something, they all knew that the boy had a nervousness issue, but they all also knew that Armin was the one who held up till the very end. His mind building flawless strategies and plans at the spur of the moment. Whatever had put him in a daze _had_ to be serious.

"you need to calm down Armin," Eren crouched next to him gritting his teeth, and rested his hand on his shoulder, "you have a bad feeling about what? Where were you planning to take the captain?"

Armin's eyes darted between both his childhood companions as he tried to put his thoughts into words, "they are looking.. for him," he said, looking down at Levi whose head was currently cradled in his lap. "we need to get him out of here.. and quickly"

"Not before you tell us what's up" Mikasa said afraid for the boy's sanity.

"They think he did it!"

"What?"

"They think he and all the scouts did it?"

"Did what, Armin!"

"They found Erwin's body a while back." A third voice broke in, she bent down and brushed Levi's wet hair out of his eyes, _he is running a fever_ "Armin is right, we need to get him out of sight" her voice was unnaturally calm.

"Wha… wait a minute! Erwin's body?! The commander is dea-d?" Eren at Hange, the looked at Armin, maybe he would say no. Maybe they were just pulling a pran-

"They think we killed the commander?" Mikasa's voice wavered but was still steady.

"No, they think he killed the commander," she gestured to Levi.

"But that's insane!" Eren stared, his desperate eyes searching Hanje's face for any form of a logical explanation.

Hanje's eyes broke away from Eren's gaze and fell to the floor, "they have already rounded up most of the Special Operations Squad, I have told the ones I could find to go into hiding."

"They must be diving through all our stuff right about now at headquarters," Armin finally found his voice, though it was tiny, his eyes were a lot more focused than before which meant his brain had gone back to normal and he was beginning to cook up plans again, "where are we going to go squad leader?"

"Well, for starters," she pulled the unconscious captain over her back, "off the streets." She gestured to Mikasa's cape on the ground, "rip that up and tie it around our waists, and another one around his wrists in front of me," the three of them got to the job.

"Let's first get off the roof, we are burning beacons of light out here."

They all pulled out their gears, Mikasa was in the middle of carrying Eren on her back when a dozen or so soldiers emerged from the darkness around them., their shotguns pointing straight at the small group. They must have not used their ODM gear in order to make silent movements.

"Squad leader Hanje," a booming voice reverberated through the falling rain, "I'd suggest you hand the captain over," commander Pixis moved closer to the group.

"Commander Pixis, please! He has don-"

"Eren," Hange cut in, her voice rising for the first time, "shut up!"

"You know as well as I that Levi is incapable of what has happened commander," she said, her eyes burning into the commander of the Garrison regiment, "so I suggest that you back off."

"Hand him over or we _will_ use force"

" _You_ were the one who found the Commander, have you considered the possibility that you killed him? Maybe you need to cut off on the alcohol," the tension in the air went up a few notches at Hange's direct accusation of their commander. The guns rattles in the soldiers' hands as they firmed their grips on them.

Pixis raised a hand to calm his troops, "Alcohol actually makes my senses sharper, Squad leader. Hand Levi over and I'll drop the charges against the Special Operations Squad," Hange's grip on her captain only tightened.

"We are not ones to sell out our own _commander,_ you have come to the wrong bunch of people if you are looking for a barga-"

"It's alright Hange," Levi opened his eyes but just barely, "put me down."

"But Levi, you can't.."

"Put me down Hange," his voice was frail, but still commanding. Hange nodded to the three around her who got to undoing the bonds and helped their Captain to the ground. He stood by Hange and placed his hand on her shoulder, half to reassure her and half to steady himself.

His tired but steadfast eyes looked at Pixis, "what's got you're your panties in a twist Commander? You want me to come clean your house for you?"

"Now that would be a good thing if you had not put me in such a spot, Levi."

"So, if I come with you to your little nest, you say you will drop the charges against my squad?"

"Is what I said."

"You'd better keep your word, roses, because they have nothing to do with this," he glanced to the side, "whatever it is."

Pixis gestures his troops to lower their weapons as Levi began walking towards them. "So you are going to bind my hands or what, you kinky old pervert?" he said, not letting his confusion seep through his gaze. Someone came forward with a set of handcuffs and fastened them around the captain's wrists.

"Commander Pixis, please you can't do this," Eren's voice burst out from behind him.

"Can it you little shit."

Silence fell, Levi walked away from the four, the Special Operations Squad, _his squad._

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So that's it, R&R people… much needed motivation


	3. Chapter 3

Attack on titan Fanfiction – I do not own any of the characters. But the story is mine..

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After the flurry of noise that had swept through the land, all the silence set a sense of unease somewhere deep within the hearts of the people. It kept them longing for movement, distraction, direction. They felt lost in the folds of the thick unyielding quiet, unable to move. All they could do, was watch the despair as so many families cried over the bodies of their loved ones, over the bodies of the soldiers who had fought and died. In the end, the sun had risen. This was the aftermath of war.

The battlefield was drenched in blood, some of it disintegrating and going up in waves of steam, the rest pooling in the crevices of the earth. More than a hundred years of being caged up behind the walls, but now no more. The new world would take its first steps laying its foundations in this red earth.

The golden haired man walked through the thick of the aftermath. His heart crushing at the sight of all his fallen warriors, some of them damaged beyond recognition, others just, gone.

"Levi," he said in his deep resonating voice, his blue eyes fixed in the man who had led these men right through the very jaws of death and come out unharmed, _on the outside at least_ , "What's the status on Yeager?"

They were standing in front of Eren's titan body that lay on the ground sizzling as it evaporated into thin air "brat's still stuck in there. His body seems to have fused to the titan," Levi said, his eyes emotionless.

Erwin looked sideways at his captain then back at the group of soldiers working to cut Eren free, "they will question our decision. Are you ready to fight this battle with me?"

"It's all I seem to be good at doing any way."

"If we do not, I doubt the kid will ever see the light of day again. He will be damned to the deepest parts of this earth and he will remain there until he is forgotten."

"The spoiled brat is more trouble than I'd like, but he did save my ass a couple of times back there. I'd rather not owe any debts, not to that half-wit in any case."

…

The survivors looked on as the soldiers dug the lifeless body of the Scouts commander out with trembling hands. The blade was still embedded deep in his heart. They carefully laid him down and moved away to make room for commander Pixis.

Erwin had been Pixis's redemption in so many ways, "you fool," were the only words he could find and he spoke them with a sense of loss, regret.

He had warned Erwin not too many days ago against acting on his gut feeling. But nothing got through to the man. He had always had the terrible habit of seeing things for what they really were, and then he'd go recklessly charging into the fight. But in the past his plans were flawless and he somehow managed to escape by meager inches. But this time.. Pixis closed his eyes as he rested his palm on the man's chest right next to the weapon that had taken his life, biting back his tears.

"This! Is!" the commander's thoughts were sullied as the thick voice broke in, "Pixis! I demand an explanation!"

Erwin had been right when he had told him about the stirring he felt in the courthouse, and the man had rarely been wrong. Pixis had always respected his intuition, though he did not agree with his methods of dealing with them. _Something's afoot, and I don't like it,_ were his words, "PIXIS!"the voice boomed and the commander slowly got to his feet.

"Noblemen Alcott?" the commander said maintaining his composure,

"Explain!"

"The commander of the Scouts regiment seems to have been murdered," he said plainly.

Everyone watched as the noblemen glared at the man standing in front of him, the commander returning the stare with surprisingly calm eyes.

"Do you think I am stupid? I can see that."

"What's it that you would like explained then Sir?"

"Your theory"

"My theory?" the commander turned to look away, "I think my theory can wait. We have suffered a loss and we need to think with clear minds. The first thing we need to deal with is reinforcing the military and securing the wall because clearly, we were wrong when we thought that we had won the war. Unless.." he turned around, ".. _you_ are sure that we have.. Sir.."

"I get a feeling that you are accusing me of something."

"Not at all sir. I'm meagerly stating facts that are staring me right in my face."

"So you are just going to let the murder of the commander slide?"

"Well, that's hardly in my hands sir. As a noblemen of the court, you are privy to taking decisions of justice."

"Well then, _I_ refuse to let the matter rest even for a minute," his chest puffed, "and I order you to speak your mind."

Pixis let out a sigh, "as I see, there is only one man who would benefit from killing the Erwin, and I suggest we apprehend him as soon as possible." A wave of shock rang out as the commander laid his mind bare, the part of this mind that everyone could see.

"Find me, Levi," the Alcott spat.

"and commander, I suggest you _break_ a confession out of him."

…

The veil of jumbled lines and dots over his eyes parted and he surfaced form from a half played out memory, his sore body fighting against his opening eyes. He felt the jab of the freezing water that was thrown across his face.

"You think I'm gonna let you pass out the easy?" the man slapped him on his cheek a couple of times leaving it red under the thin film of blood that had mixed with the water and was now trickling down his face. He groaned. "I've not even started. I like to save the best for the last."

He heard a loud CLANG as the man threw the bucket and it hit the bars of his holding cell, clattering down to the floor and coming to a stop next to a wooden chair. "You have always been a subject of talk among the soldiers Levi. They always questioned your intentions, and look _now_ , we were right all along, weren't we?" he said inspecting one of the cuts on his subject's chest with his stubby finger. Obviously pleased at his handy work. "Just.." he pressed into the wound, ".. tell me why you did it, and _maybe_ ill stop."

Levi's body reacted on its own trying to remove itself from the mercy of his assailant.

A punch landed, sucking the air out of him yet again

"There surely must be a god somewhere, don't you agree? you deserve so much more.."

Levi looked up, black scribbles encircling his vision, threatening to invade at any moment, "your chil-dho-od must've been really sc-rewed, i-f you believe in shit lik-e that," Levi spat.

"Shut up!" the man's knee met with his rib-cage and Levi lurched forward, blood spilling from his mouth, "answer my fucking question!" the man bent down, lifted his head by his hair and brought his face close to his subject's, "why.." he tightened his grip on Levi's hair tugging at them, "did you murder the commander?"

Levi meagerly stared blankly as the man's breath rushed past his face, "what? You want to ta-ke this party to the bedroom no-w?" he taunted.

The aggressor threw his face down rather rashly, Levi coughed and squirmed where he hung pinned to the wall of the cell, he sucked in a large amount of air in order to stabilize himself, "you guys- ha-ve egos so large you coul-d fit a thous-and cows in them,"

The man had _had_ it with this assholes sarcasm, he walked right up to him and closed his fingers around his small neck, "please.. make another smart-ass comment.. I _beg_ you," he said through gritted teeth as he tightened his grip.

"Lieutenant, back down please, the answers you want will die with him if you kill him," Pixis's voice sent a shudder through the man and he immediately let go. Levi's face had almost turned a slim shade of blue, his lungs worked desperately to keep him alive. The Lieutenant turned and gave a spruce salute to his slow approaching commander.

"Report,"

"He has said nothing Commander. Well nothing of import at least."

"I see," Pixis walked up to the convulsing Captain and lifted his chin so he could see the full damage, "maybe, if we keep up with this for a few more days, your tongue will loosen up?" he let Levi's face fall, "or… maybe.." he said walking to the chair, "you can tell me the story of your life, right now," he tapped the back of the chair with his finger, the two guards that had walked in with the commander quickly started unfastening the bonds that held the captain, his weak body fell forward and one of the men caught him in his arm. They dragged him to the wooden chair and dropped him in it. Pixis gestured the three men to leave them alone.

The two of them waited, neither one of them speaking. Pixis leaned on the bars behind Levi and brought out his little bottle of joy and took a short swing form it.

"so," Levi gave in, "what is it th-at you want?"

" _Everyone_ wants an answer, Levi."

"I asked what _you_ want, you bald drunk."

"what _I_ want is irrelevant, and I'm beginning to fear always will be," he took another drink and tasted the liquid in his mouth before swallowing.

"Way to go for the Garris-on regiment and their comman-der, always hiding in the win-gs of the stage. Try com-ing into the spotlight for once _commande-r_ " Levi mocked the man and spit out the blood that had collected in his mouth.

"It's not my style, Captain."

"Captain?" he turned his head to look at the commander, "why don't you take the hon-or of stripping me off the title, now that you have already stripped me off my p-ride, by accusing me of murd-ering my own commander?"

"Hn..Erwin made all his choices wisely," Pixis said his eyes clouding over as he thought of his comrade, his friend, "the day he told me he was getting you into the Survey corps, I had warned him.. in my way.. I had seen your files and no matter how hard I tried, I could not seem to pin you down," a small laugh escaped him as he turned the mouth of the bottle between his fingers. "The essay you wrote. Well," he chuckled, " that was a masterpiece. I'd have framed the damn thing and put it in my office had it not been an official document. It was.. well how shall I say this?.. perky, _just_ like I like them. Luckily for Erwin, you turned out alright, save the initial attempt you made on his life."

"Well, he tried to serve me his own ass on a pla-tter on that one, didn't he?" Levi said, nursing his jaw, his ragged breathing had calmed down some, "don't go blamin-g _me_ for the man's idiocy."

"I'm afraid I have to agree," Pixis pushed himself off the bars and squatted in front the battered Captain. He pulled out a neatly folded white handkerchief a held it out to Levi. "I know why you agreed to let me arrest you, Levi. So let's stop beating around the bush now, shall we?"

"Quick work, coming in after yo-ur mad dog has chewed me half to death," Levi snatched the cloth form Pixis's hand, the commander remained quiet, giving the man some room to breathe.

"I knew that whatever this was. You were my last hope," Levi finally said looking intently at Pixis.

"So it was a gamble? And here I was thinking I had earned your trust," Pixis said bringing a trace of mock hurt in his voice.

"I don't think anyone would blindly tr-ust you, the drunkard that you are."

Pixis smirked, "so did your gamble pay off?"

"I half wished it did not."

"I rarely jump in to the line of fire Levi, and when I do, I make damn bloody sure that the bullets do not hit me."

"Maybe I ought to appla-ud you selfless deeds?"

"The wheels are turning underneath our feet, and Erwin paid with his life because I'm guessing he'd found out."

"Yeah, that shithea-d never knew when to stop. He'd jump into a well and we'd all jump in right after him, like blubbering idi-ots.."

"Well, you _have_ jumped. The question is, are you going to see it through?"

"I _ought_ to get a gold medal."

Pixis leaned forward and grabbed the now bloodied handkerchief form Levi's hand, "I can't promise you that gold medal, but you'd better get to rounding up your men."

"Do I look like a thug running a dru-gs business? I can't do squat form in here."

"The entire military wants you to see the light Levi."

"Tel-l that to the ogre who beat me to a pulp."

"Well he was only following orders, much like we all are," he got up to leave, "well that, and you had disgraced him in front of his squad sometime back. You should really learn to restrain that foul mouth of yours. Look where it got you, spitting blood over the floor of my headquarters."

"I did say I'-d clean up your house. Maybe I should start here.."

Pixis rested his hand oh Levi's shoulder, a small smile played on his lips, "well, I'll be sure to send some detergent along," he said as he got up and left the cell.

 _Never talk's straight does he?_

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Well I'm all pumped up right now about this story, so I guess I'll put out a couple more chapters in quick succession. Sorry if it's too fast ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

Attack on titan Fanfiction – I do not own any of the characters. But the story is mine..

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 _Tsk_.. The rancid smell of the dark cell was pushing his spirit over the edge. It had been almost three days since his little chat with Roses, if he'd been counting correctly that is, or had it been five? He curled up under the thin sheet that was a sorry excuse for a blanket. A small shiver ran up his spine, not so much from the cold as from the soft scurries and rustles of insects going about their business, _disgusting,_ "at _this_ point, I'd happily die.." he could not help but say aloud. A sigh left him, _was Pixis just toying with me? Maybe this was a mistake_ , "..Erwin you damn idiot.. charming of you to put me in a fix and die."

Erwin. Dead. He had tried to make sense of it all, but he could not. It did not fit well together, at least not at this point in time. The man whom he had come to trust so blindly, his every decision, his every move, calculated or not, Levi followed, because in the end, he knew that Erwin would stand as the victor. Erwin's relentless pursuit of justice and his reckless drive of supporting the truth, was what had saved Levi from the hell that he had once built for himself, or what the world had built for him. Under Erwin's command Levi had felt his bonds breaking. Erwin had always fought for a reason, and now, he had died, but for what reason? Erwin. Dead. They did not fit well together.

"His fever won't break!"

The sheets were soaked in his sweat, bits of steam still rising from his body, his eyes were wide open and they danced about in his sockets like he was possessed. His skin was beginning to blister from the intense heat his body was emitting. The sound of his raspy breaths filled their ears as they frantically tried to stabilize his condition. Erwin and Levi held the boy down as he tried to fight out of their grip, arching his back, and thrashing his legs trying to throw their weight off him. Somewhere behind them the doctor was shouting orders to his subordinates. _Fuck this…_ Levi gritted his teeth as his own hands revolted against the high temperatures they were being subjected to.

"Hey! You.." Erwin looked at the soldier who was weakly trying to hold Eren's legs in place, ".. have some ice brought into the room, we need to get his temperature down."

"Hold his arm in place," the doctor said pulling some greenish liquid into a syringe. Levi grabbed the boys arm and the doctor quickly pushed the needle into his body, "that should start its work in a couple of minutes."

The door opened and large slabs of ice ware brought into the room, the temperature dropped almost instantly. Levi wiped the sweat on his forehead with one hand, still holding the boy in place with the other, "this is getting out of hand Erwin," he looked at his commander, "he won't be able to fight this forever."

The medicine was clearly working as Eren relaxed a bit under their hold.

"Yes I know."

"We should use the serum,"

"The court has refused to let me. The stuff is still unstable and we don't know how Eren will react to it."

"and you are really buying this horseshit? The 'stuff' seemed to work just fine on the rest of them, none of them went psycho on us."

"the others were pretty stable to begin with. The court is afraid that Eren had used his ability far too many times and the serum may react differently to him."

"So what? They'd rather have the boy cook alive?" Levi's searching gaze bore into Erwin, "They are stalling," he finally said, "they are stalling, and you know it. Eren is meagerly a shield for them and they want to hide behind him. Those bastrads don't care if the boy lives."

Erwin broke the gaze that Levi had held him in, "I'm going to make another appeal in the next session.."

"Really? You are going to make an _appeal?_ Erwin, he is losing control. I have to cut the boy out of the titan form every time! And then this.." Levi stood up and ran his hand through his hair, ".. Give it to me. I'll do it.."

"Levi! We cannot be rash about this.."

"Hey.. we owe the kid that much.. 'we' all of humanity.."

"I know Levi, but we need to think this through. The next court date is at the end of the week. I'll make sure the appeal goes through."

"and if they decline.. again? Then what?"

"then.."

The small metallic clicks on his cell door pulled him from his flitting memory. The door swung open, and someone stepped in. It was dark, both inside as well as outside.

"Captain Levi?" The form whispered in his young voice. "Sir-?" the soldier walked right into the wooden chair and knocked it over, "Shit!"

"Why the hell are you whispering?"

"Shh… Sir! _please_ keep it down!"

"Oh, I see," Levi sat up in his far from comfortable bed, ".. you are the _detergent_ then?"

"The what, sir?"

"The deterge- uh, forget it. Pixis sent you, yes?"

"Yes sir," the soldier said fumbling to get the right keys for the shackles on Levis wrists, the noise of the metal making another tiny racket.

"Why don't you just start chanting some hymns while you are at it? Were you even taught the meaning of the word _'covert'_?" Levi watched as the soldier undid his restraints.

"S-sorry sir.." his hands trembled slightly. CLICK. The soldier stepped back and watched as the captain rose from the bed rubbing his wrists. He handed him a fresh uniform, "Sir please put this on and meet me outside in five minutes."

Outside was quiet. They pulled their hoods over their heads and kept to the shadows of the unnaturally silent hallways. The occasional soldiers passing by took no notice of the two dark figures lurking in the dark. The youngster guided the captain weaving in and out of long and short paths of the headquarters. They reached the corner of a tall wall, "please step aside, sir" the soldier checked the floor, tapping it here and there, listening for a change in sound. There it was, he pressed down hard with one foot and there was a distinct click of a door opening somewhere in front of them, "follow me.."

The soldier held the trapdoor on the ground open for Levi, "Captain, Commander Pixis asked me to had this over to you." It was a sealed envelope with his name scrawled on it, "and this," Levi looked up and at what the soldier was holding, "he said, commander Erwin would have wanted you to have it."

"His Cloak?" he raised an eyebrow,

"Commander Pixis sai-"

"Commander Pixis is a drunken loon," Levi said but took the cloak any way.

"uh-" the boy seemed rattled at the rash remark about his commanding officer, "so- you just have to follow the tunnel, that envelope contains a map, it's a long walk but there is a party waiting for you on the other end."

"Right"

The young soldier stiffened and abruptly saluted the captain, "there are those of us who are on your side captain," he said looking straight into Levi's eyes, "also you will need these."

"It's much appreciated," Levi said accepting the mini flares the soldier held out, "give my thanks to Pixis." With that he climbed down the dark hole in the floor and heard the door shut above him cutting him away from the dim moonlight.

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So… Review PLEASE.. ^-^.. (Pretty please)


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